May 21 (Bloomberg) -- Swiss stocks rose to their highest
level in more than five years after the country’s equity market
reopened following the Whit Monday holiday, as the Swiss franc
fell against the euro.

Geberit climbed to a record price for the eighth
consecutive trading day. Sonova Holding AG slid 1.1 percent
after forecasting that profit will grow at a slower pace in the
year through March 2014. Transocean Ltd. dropped 2.6 percent as
the state of Texas sued the world’s largest supplier of offshore
oil rigs for its part in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010.

The SMI rose 0.5 percent to 8,318.42 at the close of
trading in Zurich, its highest level since January 2008,
rebounding from a retreat of as much as 0.7 percent. The equity
benchmark has rallied 22 percent so far this year as central
banks around the world maintained monetary stimulus. The Swiss
Performance Index gained 0.4 percent today.

“The drop in the franc favors Swiss export stocks,” said
John Plassard, who helps oversee $28 billion as vice president
at Mirabaud Securities LLP in Geneva. “Investors are thinking
about what Bernanke will say about quantitative easing.”

Stocks climbed in the final half hour of trading as the
franc declined. Switzerland’s currency depreciated 0.3 percent
against the euro to 1.2495 per euro.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke testifies on the
outlook for the U.S. economy to the Joint Economic Committee of
Congress tomorrow. The Fed also releases the minutes of its
April 30 to May 1 policy meeting tomorrow.

Bullard Speaks

Fed Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard speaks on
central-bank policy at the Institute for Monetary and Financial
Stability in Frankfurt at 5:30 p.m. today.

The volume of shares changing hands in SMI-listed companies
was 24 percent greater than the average of the past 30 days,
according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Geberit rose 3 percent to 249.50 Swiss francs. The Swiss
maker of toilets and bathroom piping advanced for an 18th day,
the longest winning streak since it first sold shares to the
public in 1999.

Leclanche SA surged 12 percent to 3.74 francs. The 104-year-old Swiss battery maker said that Bruellan Corporate
Governance Action Fund has increased its bridge loan to the
company by 1.5 million euros ($1.9 million) to cover its short-term needs until the end of June.

Sonova slid 1.1 percent to 103.50 Swiss francs, paring an
earlier drop of as much as 4.8 percent. The maker of hearing
aids said earnings before interest, taxes, amortization and
impairments will climb 9 percent to 13 percent this financial
year. Ebita rose 15 percent in the 12 months through March, the
Staefa, Switzerland-based company said.

Transocean Drops

Transocean fell 2.6 percent to 52.20 francs. Texas’s
Attorney General, Greg Abbott, accused the company of violating
the state’s environmental laws. In its complaint, the state
sought damages for economic loss, including lost tax revenue,
and harm to natural resources. It asked for civil penalties for
every day that the Macondo well discharged oil into the gulf.
Transocean owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that
exploded, leading to the world’s worst accidental oil spill.